Delaware

Delaware decriminalizes marijuana

Last update: June 30, 2015

On June 18, 2015, Gov. Jack Markell signed HB 39 into law, making Delaware the 20th state to decriminalize — or in four cases, legalize — possession of personal use amounts of marijuana. The Senate approved the bill less than an hour earlier in a 12-9 vote, and the House previously approved it 24-14.

Introduced by Rep. Helene Keeley, HB 39 will make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine with no possibility of jail. Possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $575 fine and up to three months in jail. HB 39 goes into effect six months after enactment.

You can call Gov. Markell at (302) 744-4101 to thank him for his leadership or send him a message on social media or by webmail here.

Many thanks to each of you who raised your voices or made a donation to help stop the cruel criminalization of marijuana consumers.

Compassion center open as of June 26, 2015

Almost four years after the state’s medical marijuana act was signed into law, Delaware’s first compassion center has finally opened! First State Compassion opened to qualified patients on June 26, 2015. Unfortunately, it is limited to cultivating 150 plants — far too few to meet patients’ needs. MPP submitted comments urging the department to revise the regulations to ensure a workable program. While the department refused to lift the cap now, there is a possibility of doing so later if and when the current regulations prove too limited.

The Department of Health continues to accept applications for medical marijuana ID cards, which will be required for patients seeking to obtain their medicine from a compassion center. If you are interested in obtaining your medical marijuana ID card, please visit the medical marijuana program’s website or call them at (302) 744-4749 to receive application forms. If you have further questions about the medical marijuana program, please see our summary of the law.

MPP’s Noah Mamber and Karen O’Keefe in Dover with Sen. Margaret Rose Henry and several of the state’s most committed patients to watch Gov. Markell sign SB 17.

Ending marijuana prohibition by passing legislation to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol will take a diverse coalition of supporters. If you are a member or former member of law enforcement, active or retired military personal, member of the clergy, economist, medical professional, or a victim of marijuana prohibition, and you support ending marijuana prohibition,we’d love to hear from you.

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MPP Tracks Marijuana Policy in All 50 States

"The sole tangible way in which pot is a gateway to other illegal drugs is that it is illegal. The best way to end this easy path to worse narcotics is to legalize it and take it out of the hands of criminals and gangs."
Author Andrew Sullivan, The New Republic, May 28, 2001

"The plain and simple truth is that alcohol fuels violent behavior and marijuana does not ... alcohol contributes to literally millions of acts of violence in the United States each year. It is a major contributing factor to crimes like domestic violence, sexual assault, and homicide. Marijuana use, on the other hand, is absent in that regard from both crime reports and the scientific literature. There is simply no causal link to be found."
Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, from the foreword to Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?, 2009

"Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. ... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young, Ruling in the matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition, September 6, 1988